How to Harvest Hay

Hay is dried plant material made out of grasses, alfalfa or clover. It is cut and left to dry naturally in the field. Uses of hay include feed for cattle, horses, goats and sheep and for small animals like rabbits. Hay is also a cash crop. Spring and early summer is the growing season. Harvest begins in late summer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Self -propelled mower or mower and tractor
• Rotary, wheeled or tedder rake
• Small square baler, large square baler or cylindrical baler
• Bale forks or grabbers or bale thrower
• Automatic bale wagon, wagon or flat-bed truck

1. Cut the crop with the use of a mower. This lays the crop in rows to dry in the field. A mower can be either self propelled or pulled by a tractor.
2. Rake the hay into rows. The rake moves the mowed row across the stubble or soil surface creating narrower rows that will dry faster. Turn hay over with a rotary or wheeled rake or spread out with a tedder. You can either tow the rake behind the tractor or mount the rake on the rear or front hitch.
3. Gather the hay. A baler compresses the hay into a bale for ease of handling and storage. Choose among three kinds of bales: the small square or rectangular bales, the large square or rectangular bales and the large cylindrical bale.
4. Lift the bales from the ground to the wagon and then from the wagon to the elevator or conveyor at the storage site. Tow a flat bed wagon behind the baler to toss the small bales onto. If you don't have a wagon, drop the bales on the ground for later pick up.
5. Pick up a group of bales and load them with special bale forks or grabbers. You can use a bale thrower to load the wagon also. The bales must be manually unloaded from the wagon and stacked in storage.
6. Store the bales in a shed or other building for protection against the elements, especially moisture. Keep hay dry to prevent mold and fermentation. Store on wooden pallets to keep off the floor and provide air circulation.

Tips & Warnings

• Do the raking before the crop reaches 40 percent water content.
• Hay should be below 22 percent water to minimize mold.
• Choose your bale type according to the lifting equipment and storage space you have available. Small hay bales weigh between 40 and 60 pounds. Large square or rectangular bales weigh 800 pounds or more. Large cylindrical bales weigh between 1000 and 2000 pounds.
• Hay is sensitive to weather. If it is too dry, seed and leaf are stunted. If the hay is too wet, mold and toxins may develop.
• Mold and spoilage may cause illnesses in animals.
• Haystacks produce internal heating due to bacterial fermentation, and may spontaneously combust.